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Topic: Citra Hop Rhizomes or Plants (Read 21089 times)

We have been brewing with citra hops in fairly heavy quantities, and are wondering if anyone knows of anyplace to purchase rhizomes or even started plants which we can order? I am currently checking with a local nursery who sells hops as well, but at the rate we are using Citra hops, I would prefer to cultivate them ourselves as opposed to purchasing them by the ounce.

Drew points out a trend in the hop industry. Varieties are developed by growers who fund the breeding program, and then get proprietary rights to those varieties. Simcoe is another that you might wait a long time for. Amarillo has been out for years, but no rhyzomes to be had, as that is the property of one farm.

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Jeff RankertAnn Arbor Brewers GuildAHA Governing Committee BJCP NationalHome-brewing, not just a hobby, it is a lifestyle!

"We" was used instead of "I", as I brew with a partner and it was a question we were both looking to have answered. While I cannot answer for "everyone" on these message boards, "we" would be proper in this case.

After having our local nursery check into things for us, they confirmed basically what most here have told us:

"Sorry to say that the Citra Hop is a patented variety and is unavailable to anyone other than those who are licensed to grow it. It’s frustrating I know, but like Amarillo, Simcoe, and Summit: Citra is only available as a grown, processed, product."

Hopefully this will serve as an answer to anyone else having this question.

After thoughtful debate, we have come to the conclusion that we have never tried Citra hops. Supposing we could get our hands on this variety, is Citra basically another citrusie hop for PA's and IPA's? We like them but, Amarillo was also at first "new" to our senses for only a short length of time. Depending on the spread between "citrus" hop prices... we sometimes aren't able to reach a concensus that any one is actually better than the others. joo...